Recchi gets jacket, bids official farewell to NHL playing days

When the Boston Bruins skated onto the TD Garden ice Thursday
night with the Stanley Cup in captain Zdeno Chara’s arms,
fans saw a familiar sight among the faces in the hockey phalanx:
Mark Recchi

The right wing who skated for two full seasons and part of a
third while wearing No. 28 for the Black and Gold was with his
teammates one last time, although an official shift in game
competition was not in the cards. Recchi joined in the pre-game
festivities as the city of Boston and its hockey fans enjoyed the
first Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony in 39 years before
falling to the Philadelphia Flyers in the game that followed.

For Recchi, who made the trip to Boston after two-and-a-half
decades as a junior, minor pro and NHL player, getting the chance
to don the spoked B and skate with his hockey brothers was a
special moment.

“I never got a chance to do Carolina and in Pittsburgh,
obviously I was there, but never got a chance in Carolina (to be a
part of the ceremony),” Recchi told assembled media during
the first intermission of a 2-1 loss. “It was the last time
I’ll be on the ice as an NHL player and be around my
teammates in that aspect at least. To be on the ice with them and
be in Boston with the crowd- the reaction to us winning the Stanley
Cup has been absolutely amazing what this city has, how much
they’ve embraced it and enjoyed it.”

Recchi came to Boston from Tampa Bay in what is now known as a
famously lopsided deal in which the Bruins sent a pair of prospects
in Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums to the Sunshine State for the
future first-ballot Hall of Famer and a second-round pick which was
later used to acquired defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Matt
Bartkowski. Recchi fit in immediately with the Bruins, scoring 10
goals in his first 18 games with the club while becoming an
important friend and mentor to Patrice Bergeron.

“He obviously did a lot for me in my career,” said
Bergeron after the game when asked about Recchi. “He taught
me a lot so it’s tough to see him go, but it was nice for him
to be out there with us one last time.”

Although the team came up painfully short in two second-round
playoff losses in 2009 and 2010, Recchi came back for one more kick
at the can a season ago, turning 43 in February, yet contibuting to
the cause with timely offense and helping steady the ship with his
poise and leadership.

For his efforts, the team, which was represented by veteran
defenseman Andrew Ference, who will be one of two players to wear
Recchi’s ‘A’ this season (Chris Kelly), called
him forward to be awarded “the jacket.” As a symbol of
Boston’s run to the championship last spring, the 1980s
vintage Bruins apparel that Ference found on eBay was passed to a
deserving player after each win late in the year and all through
the playoffs, with each previous recipient deciding on the new
wearer.

“It meant a lot to our team,” Recchi said of the
jacket. “It was a very proud thing for the guys after games,
and we were very proud of it. When Andrew brought it in and we
started it, it was a special thing, and to be able to get it last
in Vancouver and then get it repeated tonight in front of your home
crowd is something I’ll never forget.”

Recchi got the jacket on over his jersey and gear as the crowd
chanted his name, but needed help getting it off again. He
won’t wear it again, nor will anyone else for that
matter.

“We’re going to put it in a case here and put it
where it belongs, right in the dressing room, somewhere in the
dressing room,” said Recchi. “That’s where it
belongs and I want to keep it here. Every time I come into the
dressing room, I’ll see it, and the guys will see it and know
what it’s about.”

Recchi said that he’s coaching his son in hockey right now
and indicated that he might do some work in television during the
season’s second half to stay close to the game he loves. He
hopes to one day return to the NHL in management, but for now, is
just happy to take the year off for the first time in about 26.

“I need to take a break and hang out with my kids,”
he said.

For Recchi, who retired with more than 1,500 points in his
storied career, going out on top as a three-time Stanley Cup
champion was a fitting end to his career.

In fact, the only thing that might have fit any better is that
hideous, but unforgettable jacket.